Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Mystery of Iniquity - Part I


The Mystery of Iniquity - Part I



I am publishing a five-part series on a rarely discussed subject called the mystery of iniquity. I am writing this out of deep concern that the body of Christ has ignored the signs that the end is, not near, but here. I gave my life to Jesus Christ 31 years ago, and during that period of spiritual renewal for me and my family, there was a revelry that bordered on maniacal that Jesus could return any moment. Since my conversion, I have witnessed the self destruction of many prominent (and not so prominent) Church officials and lay-members alike, and I have seen the enthusiasm for Christ’s return sink to a low that I would have never imagined.

The first article will discuss Satan’s two thousand year’s plan to harness control of human government. The second article will examine the Church where Satan had established his corporate headquarters. Oh, did I say it was a prominent Christian Church? The third article will discuss Satan’s rebellion in heaven, which led to the expulsion of one-third of the heavenly host. And the fourth and fifth articles will tie it all together by examining the last decade and demonstrating how events have hurled human civilization closer to the poisoned embrace of the anti-Christ.

I once read a book where a CIA operative was assigned to prevent the assassination of the Chinese President. He started out in the blind, not knowing any of the details of the conspiracy that most likely would have caused World War III. However, as he pursued every lead to discover who would kill China’s President, he found out that it was a faction within the U.S. government that wanted to create instability in China for economic and strategic reasons. Since he was just a field agent, he knew that he could not convince his superiors that a number of their colleagues were conspiring to assassinate one of the great world leaders of his time. Consequently, he decided to continue in his effort to capture the gunman.

Once the operative uncovered the conspiracy at the upper echelons of the U.S. government, a “hit” was placed on him to remove him from the trail. The conspirators even tried to kill his girlfriend, whom he loved dearly, so he was forced to protect himself and her, while traveling around the globe to locate this unknown assassin.

The operative was able to forge a couple of passes for him and his girlfriend to attend the international forum where the president was to be assassinated. He roamed the convention floor as a delegate, while his girlfriend gained entry as a camerawoman with the international press corps. Much to his horror, while analyzing the ballroom floor as the President of China entered, he discovered that his girlfriend was the assassin. As close as this man was to his girlfriend, he had no idea that she was being paid to kill the president of another country. In fact, she was working against everything that he held sacred as an American patriot. 

The above story is an excellent example of how Satan has forged his way through human history. He never shows up with a pitchfork in his hand; but rather as a harmless dove, or as the loving woman who sleeps in the bed with an unsuspecting mate. God has warned us of his clever nature – 14. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness (II Corinthians 2: 14-15a). 

Satan’s ability to guile goes beyond most people’s ability to comprehend. He has been deceiving the masses since the B.C. period of the Pharaohs, and every civilization has fallen prey to his spell and cunning ability to transform a barren landscape into the appearance of an oasis. In II Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul reveals something about Satan that is essential in understanding the depth of his ability to deceive; that he shrouds his godless, wicked and deceptive nature through mystery.

1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way (II Thessalonians 2:1-7, emphasis mine).

A theological mystery, as we see in verse 7 above, is something that baffles the understanding and cannot be explained without the aid of a divine revelation. The furtive nature of Satan’s involvement in human history should have come as no great surprise to the saints, and Paul’s letter to Thessalonica was not intended to inform them that the devil operates a secret agenda. It was written to calm the anxiety of saints who believed that Jesus was soon to return. Paul gave them some landmark signs that would signal the era of Christ’s return: First, there would be a great falling away from the church; and second, the man of sin would be revealed. 

What is significant in Paul’s message to the Church is that forces have been aligning themselves since the Apostolic Age to prepare civilization for the poisoned embrace of the anti-christ. By identifying the mystery of iniquity, God has warned the Church of a wicked, end-time (anti-christic) government that will surreptitiously come upon the inhabitants of the earth. What is more stunning, however, than the secret and diabolic nature of this end-time government, is the fact that it has been evolving since the first century A.D. Paul warned the Christians at Thessalonica that the mystery of iniquity doth already work (see II Thessalonians 2:7a above).

Since the early Church-Age, Satan has been perfecting his plan to enslave the civilizations of the earth. He has done it furtively in an effort to deal the final blow to the role of human government. Some things are self-evident: if the inhabitants of the earth realized that a satanic attack on humanity loomed on the horizon, many of them would turn to Jesus. However, this is not going to be the case. Not only will they not resist his assault, but according to the Scripture, they will adore him after he rises – And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). How clever it will be for the Devil to deceive the world into worshiping him. 

The Thessalonican Church did not witness the great falling away as prophesied by Paul. In fact, notwithstanding the persecution of the time, they experienced an era of great church growth. As men and women laid down their lives for the Gospel, it inspired many new converts to follow Jesus. However, we are experiencing the falling away; consequently, one of the two prongs that Paul predicted that would precede the return of Jesus is prevalent in our modern age.

Now the revealing of the man of sin is tricky. Some have used this part of Paul’s prophesy to teach that the rapture will not take place until the rise of the anti-christ, which suggests that the Church will go through at least a portion of the Great Tribulation Period, while others say that verse 7 proves that the anti-christ cannot rise until the church and the Holy Ghost are taken out of the earth – only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way (II Thessalonians 2:7b). 

The teaching on the rapture is beyond the scope of this article, and I am not attempting to suggest my position on it at this time. The revelation of the man of sin may suggest that the Church will not be taken out of the earth until after the rise of the anti-christ. However, it could mean that God will reveal who this man of sin is to prophets in the body of Christ prior to his ascension to the throne of human government; which would theoretically permit a pre-tribulation rapture. For the time, I’ll leave this argument up to the theologians. If we look at the big picture and not the details for a moment, the logical question here is not when the rapture is, but whenever it is, will I be ready? 

As we examine the body of Christ, and witness this great falling away, one must wonder if some in the Church leadership are playing their violins as the Titanic sinks. I’m certain that I am not the only one asking how such apathy eroded the apostolic age enthusiasm for serving Jesus, or the enthusiasm that was prevailing just 30 years ago. A simple pedestrian examination of the Church seems to suggest that there is no corporate urgency that we are living in the last days and that Jesus is soon to appear. In Part II of this article, I will address why this is so.

 - David Tolson (1.29.2009)




Buddha in a Black man 



WALKING

seduced by a force of nature 

"When sisters mistreat their brothers they do immeasurable harm to their own Soul. Your brother is yourself. Your psychic teacher. Your physical protector. Your psychological muscle in your own psyche. When Women are wounded in their duality their deep inner criatura and their twinning power with their outer expression of 'self', then women will debase and degrade their brother often mimicking the woundedness of the most significant women who touch their lives. This may also include the 'not good enough' Wild Father, whom she may have experienced in negative ways which reinforced emasculation of the masculine in life. 

A collapsed Wild Mother can be offset by a strong Wild Soul Father. Where this is not available to a Wild Soul Woman initiate, this must of need be healed by deliberate initiation of the Wild Soul. She must put on the medicine of self responsibility and strengthen her inner life, be faithful to her own dreams and talents even if she must slay the demons of her dysfunctioning childhood that threatens to clothe her in toxic garments and feed her to every predatorial situation she is calling into her orbit while she refuses to face the mirror of her own contradictory behaviour." - Ngaronoa Mereana Taki




art of the Wild Flesh'd Woman from Mereana Taki 


Khloe Kardashian walking Kim Kardashian


AU NATURAL

Kim Fields at the Dove Awards
actress Kim Fields is also a highly skilled director in Hollywood.

A STORY

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

TRANSFORMERS

sacred form in meditation

"Spiritual transformation is not separate from the mental capacity. They are linked, and respond to each other's stimuli. Neither of the two are not not connected to the body. The body's reaction to the transformation food produces is felt within the spirit and understood in the mind. Their relationships are intertwined. One is not better than the other, nor is one distinguishable from the other because they arise from the Center." - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 7.30.13









Sela Ward on sofa in jeans


"As a matter of fact it is the older women that are supposed to teach the young women. What is it we would have the older women teach the young ones, especially in relation to dress? And do men have any input in that? Isn't that more the point?" - Alan Springer


small picture of Arab woman

"Men do have the input for the development of our young women. An interesting thing about the Black community is a disturbing trend. It is easier to get whites to work at this level of development in our communities than it is to get Black people working. The more education and money made by Blacks the less involvement in the communities that need 'us'. I see it more and more in every city I visit, and the ones I work in. Even white Americans talk about it. 

Hope is about all many of our young people have in us. Their reality is another story.

How do we fix this? is a personal question asked and answered individually before one enters the public forum for discussion, or the sacred circles to undertake the spiritual responsibility of raising a generation." - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 7.30.13



Serena Williams' naked dark beauty


Those times. . .


Charles V. Bush, first Black U.S. Supreme Court Judge


Charles V. Bush, Graduate of Howard University who became the first African American Judge to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court. He was also one of the first three African-American Cadets to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and the first African American to graduate from there.

He competed on an examination, with 3400 other candidates, for Washington, D.C.'s one nomination to the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). He placed No. 2 on the exam. Was and academic in Russian language.

He graduated from USAFA with a Bachelor of Science. Bush received his Masters of Arts degree in International Relations from Georgetown University, in June 1964, and was inducted into the Georgetown chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. Upon leaving the Air Force in 1970, he attended Harvard Business School, was co-chair of the African-American Student Union and was inducted into the Century Club in his second year. Bush received his Masters in Business Administration in Finance, in June 1972.

art work by





Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Listen, there is Understanding


vulnerable Nonami Takizaw

"We are sometimes crushed by our own ideas of Love ... though when we allow ourselves unconditional surrender to our Love, there is nothing which can truly hurt us ever again. We let go of all attachments to any outcomes and live in the beauty of Love's own presence in our heart as sufficient unto itself." - Ngaronoa Mereana Taki



"There is a threshold to cross when Nativez have been raised by soul immortals to value the power of peace and tenderness ... who come into contact with Predatorial cultures of power and control contriving extremes of victims and perpetrators with straightjackets of cognitive and spiritual dissonance for those who refuse to conform to this madness." - Mereana Taki 7.24.14



TWO Styles ONE Compelling Notion


actress Ann Sothern in "Massie Gets Her Man" 1942

Angie Dickinson, older & more compelling. 




SONG TO THE BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE

April 5, 2013
Spanish seduction dress


You'd think it would be the logical option, but the notion of freedom is defeated and defended by people's fears of not being bound.  This paradox lives in so many contradicting the notion of freedom and the tenets of faith espoused by so many. Freedom and love are actions. Fear and illogical belief patterns are drawings made by spirits housed in bodies sung to by slave songs. The bodies of knowledge that support freedom are often not seen for what they really are because of the slave songs sung to the notion of being free! 

This being said Elders and the Wise Ones continually find ways to re-tell stories of power to the uninitiated, the fearful, and the dull, and ignorant people whose personal stories hold them bound and tethered. 

It is words such as yours, Elder Vicki Johnson, "Chose freedom, even if it's inconvenient  and makes other people uncomfortable. You always have the option to chose freedom for yourself..." that points one's steps towards freeing their mind, spirit, and soul. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4.16.13


sculptor Vinnie Bagwell
April 16, 2013


Monday, July 28, 2014

A Moment in the SUN


Jennifer Nguyen in the sun
July 20, 2010

Purity is longed for, and joy is run away by the lives many are forced to live. But, purity is the first form of expression when born, and joy is the by-product of childhood, and innocence. How we keep what is pure within us, and brings joy to the moments is our fading innocence talking to what is crude around us, saying, "There is no vitality in coarseness. Be Free!" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 11.13.13



Jennifer Nguyen by WARD Laforme Jr.
July 28, 2010



the Illusions we DREAM

Serena Williams
4.16.13

for the love of illusion and contradiction




Sunday, July 27, 2014

YES, YOU CAN!


"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending!" - Sporah, the popular Tanzanian talk show host The Sporah Show,1.29.14 


July 27, 2013 


I SEE MYSELF

April 11, 2013

Judge Judy is a woman I don't know. I don't like her popular show, JUDGE JUDY, and I don't like her on television. But, in 2007 I listened to an  interview featuring her, and promoting her book, 'Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever'. 

I was struck about what I have come to value: a wise woman's insight into process, and progress. I don't remember the show she was interviewed on, or the host, but I wrote the words she spoke laced with wisdom, care, and encouragement.

"Let's talk about women who don't know how to get the best out of life, and they don't understand that they have to be the hero of their own story. I didn't say heroine. I said the Hero of your own story. Women are used to, sort of deferring to men." she continued in that annoying voice of hers. "They prefer to be liked rather than respected, which is why it has taken women so long to get some kind of parody in the work place!" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 6/4/13


African American woman in red dress!!!!


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Captured from within

Immersion into an art form transforms the artist. I learned this studying what you create and what you allow the photographer to capture with his camera of you. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4.16.13
by Vinnie Bagwell
March 28, 2013


"REGARDING THE RACE:

Set before us...the need for endurance; the focus of our vision; keeping the rules; self-discipline; and the desire and determination to win. If we lack in any of these areas, we will become vulnerable to defeat and failure. Don't think about defeat, you cannot fail." - Vinnie Bagwell




Shadow of DARKNESS

the women we love we understand to be co-conspirators.
April 11, 2013

MYSTIQUE & WELLNESS


“... the mystery & mystique of a woman is developed by her for her. It is an early teaching coming from the exchange between daughter and mother, daughter and aunts and grandmothers. Outside of the natural context of development other arrangements have been made. One of the intriguing elements of a woman's mystique comes from what was stolen, and what was gleaned from great silences, and profound sadness. Mystique itself is mysterious. It is a mysterious form of retreat and access.” © Gregory E. Woods 4.15.13


CB Photography
April 29, 2013
model Emily B.
photographer Chris Barnes


"There is joy here. Capturing it is easy in life, embracing it is easy as a child, and loving it is gracious within a mature person." - Gregory E. Woods 5.14.13



Friday, July 25, 2014

MARRIED IN HOLLYWOOD

Lioness Daiba Sala
Will Smith and Jada Pickett-Smith
together are quite a force of union. 



ORIGINAL

Mother Africa caressing her daughter





Thursday, July 24, 2014

A Challenge to Common Sense


classic Maori beauty 


"Retail voyeurism feeds the ego's penchant for being seduced by false wants and illusory needs. If you can conquer this idiosyncratic habit of ego mind, you can free yourself from all other illusions that you are a victim of media corruption." - Mereana Taki 7.24.14



IT is an ART


art of a dreamer- Esnella Wi


"It is an art form learning how to be authentic, learning how to be in sync with all the elements of our being. The way we learn to come together as one within our self; it is magical. This coming together within ourselves is how we conjurer the spirits of our childhoods as alchemists to grow up." - dawn wolf, keeper of stories 7.22.14



Elvira vamping it up!!!!



CONTRASTS WITHIN A CONTINENT


African in regalia 



African beauty of Nyomi Banxxx 6




eloquent presence

Mrs. Angela Hunter in loose fitting floral 







Wednesday, July 23, 2014

from BEAUTY





you have a sacred nectar
you call it lots of things
one of these is being real
one of these is being present
this perfume of the divine
came with you into this realm
as gift offerings from love
with which to adorn yourself 
these garments are invisible
their fabric is holy vibrations
and when your soul speaks
what is sacred is calibrating 

~ Mereana Taki 6.15.14






when truth (existence) is made into a circus
then reality (life) is being rendered caricature
open your inner eyes towards your own soul
all of this is the journey of spirit to be whole ~ Mereana Taki 6.15.14



June 7, 2014 



Contrasts: shadow into light


Lali Pop- Unlaced Doll by photographer Travis Photography
January 20 , 2014



Jan. 23, 2014 


"Oh, that's you? Your transformations either way are telling a story without words hard for me to fathom. David Ho's photograph of you seems to be a projection from shadows to light much like the spiritual journey from the Lodge of Introspection, in the West, to the Eastern Lodge of Illumination!" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 1.23.14 


FROM TIME TO TIME: Marilyn & Kim

In honor of Marilyn Monroe by amFAR.
http://hbazaar.co/6189iFkb


Marilyn Monroe
yesterday 

Kim Kardashian in towel on beach 2 

at Bachelorette party in Paris


DISCIPLINE 2




"One must be careful of the snakes in the temple for they are the one's that cause you to catch a charge if you get caught up into responding based of your emotion. I remember my days working at Riker's Island and I would talk with the inmates and some would say to me 'it' happened in a split second. They either pulled the trigger, stabbed or punched and they could not take it back. I never judged them because growing up in the South Bronx I realize the struggle is real and never say what you are not going to do because the situation might arise and you must pray hope that you can remain in control in that instance. Take a breath and pray to God to give you the inner strength. The major of battles in our life take place in our mind and if you can stand the storm and win those battles you will get better at making good decisions."  - William Dawson 6.22.14




Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Shoot Shoot Bang Bang!!!!


Fuck General Custer 
Is anyone doing anything about the gun violence plaguing our communities?

(Here's an article I recently had published)

I've written about the need to end gun violence in the past and for some reason, I’m drawn back to the pain I feel internally whenever I read about violence taking the lives of so many. In case you haven’t heard, over the July 19th weekend, gun violence erupted in Chicago injuring 40 people and killing at least four. One of the four to be killed was 11-year-old Shamiya Adams.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to hear about violence in Chicago. I’m not isolating Chicago for this article because I’m concerned there’s a larger picture we’re not addressing. The problem of unemployment and low pay. The problem with the lack of programs and services aimed at helping people who want and need them. For some reason, there is more concern about what’s happening internationally then what’s plaguing communities and neighborhoods locally and nationally.

Whenever we divert our attention away from the ills of what’s happening within our immediate surroundings, problems will continue to escalate.
While speaking at a local church over the weekend, I learned that this particular church (Cargle Chapel A.M.E. Church) in Walton County, Georgia was at the forefront of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. Just reflecting on the many heroes and sheros who stood where I stood, I couldn’t help but draw from their strength to keep pressing on to end violence and violence in general. Think about it for a moment. None of them would have sat back idly. Accepting injustice of any kind wasn’t in their DNA.

It’s apparent that the mainstream media isn’t doing anything to bring about peace. In fact, many within this mainstream structure will do their very best to avoid the topic because it doesn’t affect them personally. We cannot be naïve and think race and nationality doesn’t play a factor in what gets covered. Let’s face it – when violence or the threat of violence doesn’t affect certain areas, it’s often times overlooked by the ones with the means (political and financial) to make a difference.
My friend, it’s up to all of us to bring about a solution. In a real sense, all of us (no matter where we live or what we do) must come together to end violence. This is deeper than voting for new laws. It’s much more than getting on our knees and praying. We must initiate programs that will uplift and empower people. We must not wait on the government for funding. We must use the resources we have at our disposal and learn to be resourceful.

I fully understand that some who will read this article will not respond to any call to action. They are content with the way things are until violence hits home. But I’m reaching out to those who care, not just for their children but for the children of any parent. I’m challenging those who want to make a difference to begin today. Don’t wait. Each day of procrastination adds more fuel to the violence epidemic.

If we do our part, we will see a reduction in violence. If we remain steadfast in our efforts, a change will take place. And if we hold on to the strength, courage, and works of our ancestors, I believe lives will be changed and transformed. - Dr-Sinclair N. Grey III 7.22.14




4 Chiefs 



poster - Connection 



It Is Refreshing!

Serenity Skye
Pin up model Serenity Skye.
 July 22, 2013 

"Oh, so wholesome. It is refreshing to see wholesome faces and eyes in this medium. So many trying to be some image of someone else to the point authentic is associated with another period of time..." - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories 1.18.14